Oakland Raiders need a quarterback—they need Teddy Bridgewater

Jadeveon Clowney, arguably the most dominant NFL draft prospect in a decade, won’t be the No. 1 pick.

Take a breath. Collect yourself. And now consider this:

The Oakland Raiders will be the worst team in the 2013 NFL season. While Clowney, who’ll be one of the most devastating forces to ever enter the league, can send the Raiders’ sack attack to a different stratosphere, a surefire elite edge pass rusher cannot turn around a modern NFL franchise mired in mediocrity.

Only an elite passer can do that. Enter Louisville quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater.

Last season, eight of the top 14 NFL teams in sacks didn’t make the playoffs. The Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins (tied for 24th in the league) both did. Other than their low sack total of 32, what else might they have in common? The Colts and Redskins each drafted their franchise quarterbacks—Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III—in 2012.

The 2013 draft class didn’t offer a worthy QB option at the top. Bridgewater will be one next April. In addition to his great physical attributes of arm strength, accuracy and mobility, he has Luck- and Griffin-like intangibles as a smart leader and winner. Scouts have noted that Bridgewater makes the game look easy, and in that regard, has drawn comparisons to Eli Manning and Russell Wilson.

In other words, he has everything the Raiders don’t possess in starter Matt Flynn.

Carson Palmer looked the part with his strong arm, but his season and a half brought familiar, inefficient results. Along with 36 turnovers in 25 games, the team went 8-16 when he started. It’s on to Flynn, the new veteran stopgap who isn’t likely to fare much better.

The Raiders just lost their starting left tackle and most reliable offensive player, Jared Veldheer. He’s out at least three months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn triceps. Even with Veldheer, the Raiders’ offensive line was already among the league’s worst. Without him on the blind side, it could be disastrous for Flynn.

There’s also the matter of Flynn’s inability to push the ball downfield. Despite having a cast of young, speedy receivers, Flynn doesn’t have the arm and won’t have the protection behind a shaky line to get the ball to them. Flynn won’t even benefit from Palmer’s favorite bailout target, as tight end Brandon Myers is now with the New York Giants.

The Raiders will trail often, and defenses will tee off on Flynn. What it adds up to is Flynn taking a lot of hits and dumping the ball off often to running back Darren McFadden.

When the eventual struggles of Flynn come, going with what’s behind him in midseason will offer no relief. Terrelle Pryor is a trendy project and rookie third-stringer Tyler Wilson has shown he needs a lot more development.

It all sets up for a first-pick upset.

What’s made Luck and Griffin so good so early is their knack for raising the play of everyone around them, and not being dragged down by it. It’s what separates special NFL QBs from average ones such as Flynn. Bridgewater will allow the Raiders to solve many of their biggest problems in just one move.

Last season, the Raiders finished No. 31 in the league with just 25 sacks. Considering the players who produced 16 ½ of those sacks are no longer on their roster, it will look like there’s good reason to draft Clowney.

The Raiders must resist that temptation.

In the past, a player of Clowney’s ability would have been a no-brainer. But in the current quarterback-driven NFL, if you don’t have a good passer, you have little chance to be on the playoff radar. There are fewer have-not teams at that position than ever before. As long as the Raiders are stuck in that group, they will be far removed from competing for anything in the AFC.

The Raiders still are reeling from the JaMarcus Russell bust at No. 1 just six years ago. They were enamored with his physical gifts and ignored the red flags surrounding him.

They can redeem themselves with Bridgewater, who has more overall talent than Russell and no off-field concerns.

It’s now been a decade since Oakland enjoyed top quarterback play from one-time NFL MVP Rich Gannon.

It’s been 11 years since the Raiders finished above .500, their AFC title year of 2002 with Gannon. Since then, four- and five-win seasons have been the standard, including 2012.

If the Raiders, as a franchise with a proud winning past, want to be relevant in the league again soon, they need to embrace a passer-first mentality. When the Raiders are faced with the Clowney question in ‘14, Bridgewater is the right and only answer.